Sports betting fans are getting a little anxious these days as it looks like the NFL and the NFLPA may be on the fast track to a new collective bargaining agreement. The first thing the union needs to do is re-certify, and it plans on doing that today or tomorrow. The players' representatives will then meet to discuss the proposal from the owners and see if common ground has been created.

The players are careful to remind NFL betting fans that it could take some time to review the document in its entirety. But Vegas football picks experts know that both sides had their lawyers involved in drafting the proposal. That means all of the legal speak has been covered and it is just a matter of the players agreeing to the terms.

Another issue that seems to not want to go away is the involvement of San Diego Chargers wide receiver Vincent Jackson and New England Patriots offensive lineman Logan Mankins in a lawsuit against the NFL. Both players either want to be named unrestricted free agents or be compensated with $10 million. Logan Mankins has said that he will not allow his part of the lawsuit to hold up the new CBA, but Vincent Jackson has made no such promise. The agreement cannot be signed until all outstanding lawsuits are settled.

If the new agreement is signed by the weekend, then free agency would start Monday, July 25. Teams would need to have rosters of 90 players by the opening of training camps on August 3. The Hall of Fame game will be a casualty of the lockout as neither the St. Louis Rams nor the Chicago Bears want to play the game with no preparation. However, the Hall of Fame inductions will go on as scheduled.

There will continue to be a flurry of activity in Washington, D.C. until an agreement is reached. But both sides are sounding more and more confident that the four and a half month NFL lockout may be coming to an end in the next few days.